Having shared my recent article with an “apoplectic” constituent of one of the reps that “took a walk” on SB284, I was asked if this particular rep abstained from any other housing bill roll calls. That communication inspired me to look at ALL the votes this rep abstained from. Having done that with the goal of convincing that particular constituency their rep should be primaried, I compiled a rap sheet with a brief description of each bill, whether or not it was germane to housing. I was quite surprised by some of these bills, as they should be partisan flagship issues, such as all the trans stuff. Then I thought, “Why not do this for ALL the enemies of 91A that are still in office?” The ones who haven’t taken a walk do not appear in the list below.
My definition of “taking a walk” is that the rep abstained from a particular roll call vote on a bill, but reported to duty that day for other votes. If they played hooky for the day, status being excused or unexcused, I didn’t count it. I also excluded non-bill votes, like “shall member continue” and “print remarks.” Below is a summary of specific vote abstinences as opposed to being a no-show, coming in late or leaving early. Yeah, bad weather happens in the winter, and the House does go into overtime/extra innings, and some reps’ sitters turn into a pumpkin at a certain time. My point is that things happen, but let’s look at those enemies of 91A that just plain chose NOT to vote on certain bills and what those bills were.
- Alexander – HB 66 (a RTK bill, go figure!)
- Aylward – budget amendment vote #160
- Ball – HB 123, HB 452, HB 666, budget amendment vote #163
- Boehm – HB 94, HB 123, HB 377
- Bordes – HB 53, HB 273(parental library record access), HB 361 (school mask), HB 377, HB 521(online voter registration), HB 548, HB 712, HB 739, budget amendment vote #150, #161
- Brown – HB 548
- Coker – HB 219, HB 221, HB 433, HB 521, HR16
- Crawford – HB 251, HB 377, SB 228
- DeSimone – HB 703
- Dolan – HB 442, HB 631
- Foote – HB 520, HB 675, budget amendment vote #162
- Gould – HB 280
- Harvey – HB 68, HB 235
- Hunt – HB 50, HB 54, HB 251, HB 254, HB 324, HB 357, HB 377, HB 524, HB 584, HB 631, HB 682, HB 712(mutilation of young women), HB 749, SB 60, SB 284, HCR1, HCR4
- Katsakiores – HB 520
- Kuttab – HB 59, HB 377(puberty blockers), HB 431, HB 524(abolishing the NHVA), budget amendment vote #159
- Ladd – HCR9
- Red Flagger Lascelles – HB 219, HB 254(suicide bill)
- Love – HB 224, HB 617
- Lundgren – HB 583, HB 691
- Clerk MacDonald – HB 273, HB 461, HB 687, budget amendment vote #161
- Toupee MacDonald – HB 148, HB 584, HB 646
- Milz – HB 115, HB 466, HB 703
- Nelson – HB 749
- Notter – HB 94, HB 332, HB 419, HB 631
- Ouellett – HB 363, HB 380, budget amendment vote #163
- KP O’Brien – HB 520
- Seaworth – HB 431, HCR1, HCR4, HCR7, HCR9, HR16
- Terry – budget amendment vote #160 and #175
- Thackston – HB 88, HB 94, budget amendment vote #152 and #153
- Tierney – HB 613, budget amendment vote #158
- Tripp – HB 96, HB 221
- Walsh – HB 96, HB 284, HB 363, HB 378, HB 380, HB 614, HB 724, budget amendment vote #150 and #153
- Weyler – HB 75
~~~
- HB 50 CRT
- HB 53 pot bill
- HB 54 alternative treatment centers for profit
- HB 59 assault on emergency workers
- HB 68 best interest school district placements
- HB 75 pot bill
- HB 88 community property trusts
- HB 94 welfare circumcision
- HB 96 building energy code
- HB 115 universal EFAs
- HB 123 timber tax
- HB 148 women’s safe spaces
- HB 219 renewable energy
- HB 221 cost effectiveness system benefits change
- HB 224 renewable energy
- HB 235 educator code of ethics
- HB 251 squirrel/raccoon ownership
- HB 254 MAiD/Dr Kevorkian
- HB 273 parental library record access
- HB 280 wage payments
- HB 284 tax impact warrant articles
- HB 324 banning obscene materials in schools
- HB 332 village district water
- HB 357 DHHS/vaccine rulemaking
- HB 361 school mask
- HB 363 redistricting criteria
- HB 377 puberty blockers
- HB 378 employee unused time
- HB 380 pot bill
- HB 419 headlights on with wipers
- HB 431 establishing school commission
- HB 433 marrying at 17
- HB 442 subminimum wage
- HB 461 motor vehicle training materials
- HB 466 refusing breath test
- HB 520 DoE subpoenas
- HB 521 online voter registration
- HB 524 repealing NH Vaccine Association
- HB 548 membership-based model healthcare facilities
- HB 583 welfare school lunch and healthcare
- HB 584 NH sovereignty/public health
- HB 613 local budget defaults
- HB 614 constitutional rights litigation
- HB 617 homestead right
- HB 631 residential building in commercial zone
- HB 646 welfare school lunch on line application
- HB 675 school budget caps
- HB 687 class action settlement
- HB 682 offshore wind
- HB 691 fluoride in water
- HB 703 delinquent school lunch balances
- HB 712 banning upper torso mutilation of young women
- HB 724 lead paint
- HB 739 excess funds and school districts
- HB 749 teaching history of communism
- SB 60 advanced deposit account wagering
- SB 228 community generators
- SB 284 housing/parking
- HCR1 resolution/climate change
- HCR4 resolution rejecting offshore wind
- HCR9 resolution rejecting European sustainability
- HR16 covid worker recognition
I’m aware that I’ll be said to have a vendetta, have too much free time, and various other insults, but if any of the above reps are yours, consider this report a service calling attention to the People’s Work that they are NOT doing for you. And lastly, a hat tip to Karen Thoman, who was the one who told me what “taking a walk” was all about.
